Current portable computers, e.g., laptop computers, typically include a display and a keyboard. When the computer is in a closed configuration, the display and the keyboard are “hidden” and inaccessible to facilitate portability of the computer and to help protect the display and the keyboard from damage while not in use. The computer can be moved from the closed configuration to an open configuration in which the display and the keyboard are visible and accessible to facilitate use of the computer. To move between the closed and open configurations, a lid including the display can be hingedly connected to a base including the keyboard. The hinged connection can allow the lid and the base to open and close in a “clam shell” manner.
One drawback with current portable computers is that the hinged connection between the lid and the base maintains centers of the lid and the base in a fixed position relative to one another regardless of whether the computer is in the open configuration or the closed configuration. A center of the display and a center of the keyboard can therefore be offset from one another. More particularly, the display can have a longitudinal edge and a latitudinal edge, where the longitudinal edge is longer than the latitudinal edge. Similarly, the keyboard can have a longitudinal edge and a latitudinal edge, where the longitudinal edge is longer than the latitudinal edge. The longitudinal centers of the display and the keyboard can be offset from one another in conventional portable computers. Such an offset can make typing on the keyboard more difficult, particularly in the case of touch typing in which hands typing on the keyboard will be offset from the center of the display and therefore be more likely to inaccurately type on the keyboard while the offset display is being viewed. Such an offset can additionally or alternatively cause eye strain and/or awkward, uncomfortable body position as a person's body, e.g., hands, arms, neck, etc., can be unnaturally positioned to try compensate for the offset between the display and the keyboard.
Accordingly, there remains a need for improved devices and methods for aligning a display of a computer with a keyboard of the computer.